'Magnificence in Men, Materials and Money' - this is what defines Gurugram-based M3M Group. With quality, timely delivery and excellence as its motto, the company's projects are distinguished by their innovative, unique and unparalleled concepts, multidimensional realty solutions and unmatched service standards. Indeed, with six completed and 12 ongoing projects, M3M is a trendsetter when it comes to high-value real-estate advisory.

In fact, the group recently delivered five of its key projects. Pankaj Bansal, Director, M3M Group, shares more on the company's strategy and plans in conversation with SERAPHINA D'SOUZA.

M3M Group was successful in delivering five of its key projects even after demonetisation. What strategy did the company adopt to deliver in a market that saw a downward trend then?
We started operations for these projects about five to six years back. Demonetisation is a recent development; it had no impact on these projects as they have been in the development phase for the past few years and the delivery was already planned. So, the advantage was that our projects were nearing completion at the time of demonetisation. Having said that, there were initial challenges, such as payment to contractors and labourers. But, fortunately, our contractors took charge of the situation and labour, and after December, the situation got smooth. We worked with contractors such as L&T and Shapoorji Pallonji for these projects. Most of the materials were procured before hand through our procurement team, which is given a schedule of when and where the materials are required and for which project. We work on a construction milestone-linked process for procurement and have a procurement head to take care of this.

The five projects we recently delivered include commercial projects M3M Urbana and M3M Cosmopolitan, as well as three residential projects: M3M Golfestate (Fairway West), M3M Merlin, and M3M Woodshire.

The company expected a sales revenue of Rs.7,500 crore from the five projects delivered. Has this been achieved? And which project contributed the most?
The company is in the process of achieving its target; it has already achieved about 50 per cent of the aimed revenue. The group's iconic project and India's first in-city golf-resort themed lifestyle destination M3M Golfestate has contributed the maximum thus far. This is around 65 per cent of the total revenue received.

You are involved in the residential and commercial segments. Which of these contribute maximum to your overall business and what are your plans going forward?
M3M has always strived for an optimal mix of residential, retail and office segments. When we began operations six years ago, our focus was 80 per cent residential and 20 per cent office space. However, we gradually realised the opportunities in the commercial segment as well. So far, though, the residential segment has been the biggest contributor to our business. For instance, last year, the residential segment contributed 60 per cent to our overall business while commercial and retail was about 40 per cent. We will continue to maintain this focus. Going forward, the proportion of retail development is also expected to increase in our portfolio. We have already delivered two retail projects, M3M Cosmopolitan and M3M Urbana, both high-street retail office spaces on Golf Course Road Extension.

We are also planning to enter into the development of income-yielding assets.

How do you see reforms and initiatives like RERA, Housing for All, and GST changing the real-estate landscape in India?
The real-estate sector is definitely in the recovery phase. Several steps taken by the government in recent times - from RERA to GST - have increased investor confidence in the market. Interest rates are already at their lowest compared to the past many years. This is expected to drive housing demand. With the Budget also being fairly beneficial to the sector and infrastructure status given to affordable housing, buying a home will now be easier than before, that too with benefits being extended to both developers and end-consumers. RERA, in particular, will give customers an added sense of assured delivery and quality. Information will flow freely and the focus will be on cash flow management and delivery of projects. With GST also in place now, transparency of taxes will reduce the construction cost over the long term.

How did the company perform in FY2016-17? What are your growth prospects for FY2017-18 and your plans going forward?
In FY2016-17, we had collaborations with Tata and StanChart; so our topline increased by about Rs 300 crore. Last year, our turnover was about Rs 1,500 crore unaudited. For the current year, our order book will definitely cross a minimum of Rs 2,000 crore. We will continue to be a growth-oriented organisation. We plan to come up with distinctive projects in the short and mid-term. We are in the process of planning two big launches, which will be large mixed-use developments in Gurugram. We have already partnered with some eminent brands in the development business and will launch projects in collaboration with them soon.

We continue to be open for collaborations with both national and international partners for our future projects.